This volume, conceived in the wake of the Gulf War, addresses the role of women in nationalist projects, the close link between nationalist projects and militarism, and the privileging of masculinity in a militarized nationalism.

The papers in their totality indicate the complex ways women become involved in the diverse nationalisms of the twentieth century, underscoring the importance of bringing a feminist analysis to bear on this phenomena. Implicit is the policy issue of whether women would, if they could, give a different spin to budgets that today are spent on the production or purchase of arms rather than on the projects women’s groups have advocated: building schools and houses, underwriting health, sanitation and local food production, and developing local economic resources.